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“TO EGIR, THE SEAS AND NAVIGATION.”
The most fertile pastures, the rocks and grottoes best fitted for dwellings and safe retreats, the forests that were richest in game and the springs that were most frequented by the flocks, all were taken by force and possession maintained by the strength of the sword.
Wise Odin felt that violence gave no right and that theft could not give a title to possession. He determined to establish the right of property, and to give it, for greater efficiency, a religious character which would make it sacred in the eyes of nations.
One of his daughters, Gefione, was sent by him to one of the most powerful chiefs of Scandinavia. She presented herself before his tent, with presents in her hands. In return she asked only for a span of land. The chief gave her a vast but uncultivated territory.
